Mdluli, one of the most powerful cops in the country, has been at loggerheads with Cele.

Tensions heightened when two of his officers raided the office of the public protector Thuli Madonsela days after she slammed Cele in a lease-agreement scandal.

This week, a senior police officer said Ximba was "Mdluli's right-hand man for years".

A slew of arrests are also expected, with more claims of crime intelligence hampering investigations by the Hawks.

In the two weeks after Beeka's murder, the police have been rocked by:

�The arrest of Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir and claims that he was being fed information by rogue intelligence officers;

�The arrest of Mdluli, who has been fingered in covert operations involving the bugging of phones, including those of former Scorpions investigators in the Jacob Zuma corruption case and the Jackie Selebi trial; and

�Growing claims that Cele wants to rid the police of allies of his disgraced predecessor,Selebi.

Mdluli and Beeka have both been linked to Krejcir, who, since arriving in South Africa in 2007, has set up an elaborate network of contacts in the underworld and police.

The Hawks have claimed that a hit list found at Krejcir's home during a raid included Beeka's name.

Krejcir is alleged to have been given telephone recordings by crime intelligence officers.

Ximba held directorships in 10 companies.

Meanwhile, at the Beeka funeral, friends and family paid their last respects at the Good Hope Christian Centre.

An emotional Edward Beeka, the brother of the karate instructor, came close to tears during his eulogy, saying: "God is still merciful. We don't seek revenge."

Beeka's girlfriend at the time of his death, who was not identified, also spoke briefly about the pain of being left behind with the couple's 11-month-old son. - Additional reporting by Bobby Jordan